Managing Multiple Projects: Avoiding Project Overload

What is the maximum number of projects a project manager can run concurrently before he or she becomes overloaded?

In a recent edition of PM Network magazine, project managers are bemoaning the number of projects they're asked to manage, with the average number of concurrent projects standing at eight. This seems high by anybody's standards, especially as many are large and high-profile initiatives.

During an interview for project manager at a software house some years ago, I made the mistake of telling the interviewer that project managers should manage one project at a time so they could give it their full attention. Not something he wanted to hear. After some hasty backtracking, I managed to convince him I was happy to run concurrent projects and got the job.

At the time this is what I believed, but since then have accepted the reality that in business today project managers have to manage several projects at one time.

So accepting this, how many projects should a project manager run? It's not an easy question to answer, as every project is different in size, complexity and importance.

The more balls a project manager has in the air at any one time, the more likely it is he or she will drop one. Recently this happened to me. At the time I was managing several small and medium-size projects, and failed to notice that one was heading for problems. The project was in the execution phase, with a strict delivery deadline. Unfortunately, I'd failed to realise there was extra testing needed, to guarantee the software applications security on the Internet before it could go live. I'd not planned for this work, and had to scramble days before go live to get a third-party to do the security testing. Luckily they had people available and we met the deadline, but it caused some sleepless nights and didn't improve my reputation as a project manager.

So, was five projects too many to be managing at one time? In short yes, the fifth project was the straw that broke the camels back. I didn't spend enough time managing stakeholder expectations, allowing an important work package to become overlooked.

So what can project managers do to avoid project overload?

• Learn to say no - recognise when enough is enough.
• Avoid taking shortcuts to take on more projects.
• Delegate certain parts of projects to subordinates.
• Set priorities by importance and delivery date.
• Spend enough time managing stakeholder expectations (including your line manager).

It's impossible to say what the maximum number of projects a project manager should run concurrently is before he or she becomes overloaded. However, it's certain that if the number is greater than one, there is a risk of running into problems. Be clear, the more projects a project manager undertakes the less effective they become.

So in my job interview was I wrong? No, if a project manager devotes all of his or her time and effort to a single project then there's little risk of distractions or a loss of focus. However, this is not reality in our modern business environment where project managers have to manage multiple projects concurrently. So be careful not to become overloaded, otherwise you could find you have problems that damage your reputation as a project manager.

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John Hayes

Posted 111 days ago

This is an issue which is becoming increasingly prevalent. My own record is being involved in 15 concurrent projects at one time. I think that this is not just a problem for Project managers - it is also a problem for the individual resources and for business managers who often struggle to see the bigger picture.

It might be worth looking at a solution like this one:
http://www.blackstairsmountains.com/BlackstairsHome/Pages/Context-Project-Management.a spx

Lauren

Posted 876 days ago

Mark, if you can delegate, do so. I struggle with this, but not doing so hurts me. Also, prioritize what management wants. They often don't want something WELL done, they just want it DONE! And last, whenever you can get an extension, TAKE IT!

One of my coworkers has a phrase that makes me cringe: NMJ/NMP not my job, not my problem. I struggle with this also, but I think it's part of delegating. You have to let people do their jobs, you have to be able to count on it, you have to remind yourself to count on it. If you think/know that they will fail, give them an earlier deadline so that there is time to recover. They may surprise you.

One last thing - share the priority list w/management at all times. Let them take some responsibility for it, so that if they ask for a reprioritization, they know what will slip. If you are getting multiple priorities from multiple managers, make THEM negotiate for priorities. It works pretty well, actually. No one likes the guy/gal who tries to cut to the front of the line.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Posted 926 days ago

Great article... doesn't help me though. At the moment myself and my boss manage close to 160 projects. It isn't actually manageable. But we are constrained by the resource allowance we have, i.e. two of us.
We also juggle within those 160 projects changing priorities... What should I do about that?
Oh and to add to this I am also currently a team lead for a department.

Any suggestions?

Daria

Posted 1143 days ago

Thanks for the great article! I do agree with all the tips. Plus, I'd like to add one more: it's important to runs all the projects in one place and create a master plan for all of them. This structure should be absolutely transparent, so that it’s possible to trace any project from a quarterly goal to a daily task of a team member. Besides identifying the major project milestones and their dates, this plan should reflect all the tasks on all of your projects. You then will then be able to determine tasks’ priorities across projects and identify which projects’ milestones to concentrate on. We've developed our pm tool (wrike) with this approach. At the end of the day, a tool will not make you a super-manager, but it can make your life a lot easier.

Chris

Posted 1185 days ago

I found this article interesting, and can identify with the issues described. I am currently managing 9 projects, ranging from reasonably small to quite large, and am finding the most difficult aspects to be two-fold, namely: (a) identifying clashes between common resources, and (b) ensuring a quality of minimum control and paperwork is maintained.

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